What to feed him for Winter?

mister obama

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I've got a nice but spooky black cat that visits for a meal occasionally, I have 35degrees this morning and am wondering what to feed him to fatten him up for winter, he likes a bowl of whole-milk and some table scraps, but most of my friends with house cats are worried about obesity and this outside boy needs the calories.....
 
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m935

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Hi M, I've got a nice but spooky black cat that visits for a meal occasionally, I have 35degrees this morning and am wondering what to feed him to fatten him up for winter, he likes a bowl of whole-milk and some table scraps, but most of my friends with house cats are worried about obesity and this outside boy needs the calories.....
Im sure others have better opinions. But i wouldnt feed him milk - as im sure others would agree. I feed both dry and canned food. Ive had cats leave when I just fed dry (1 got hit by a car) so I make it worth coming back every day to have wet available - plus its healthier as most of us cant take these cats to the vet
 
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shadowsrescue

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For winter feeding, canned wet food is best. It takes more energy to digest dry food. Cats need quick energy to stay warm in the winter. You can still offer some dry, but wet food should be highest quantity.

Also I would not offer milk. You can buy cat sip that is fine to give cats. Cats often cannot digest regular milk. It could give him diarrhea.

Would you consider offering him a shelter for the winter? You can make very simple shelters that would help him to stay warm and out of the elements.
 

moxiewild

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Agree with the others - no milk, and wet canned food with maybe some dry to supplement. Table scraps are okay for treats so long as they are cat-safe food items, but this isn’t a complete food for a cat. Do you know if he hunts?

I also second the shelter idea. There are a lot of cheap and easy ways to make a shelter for him to keep him warm over winter and encourage him to stay nearby.

Lastly, has he been neutered and vaccinated?

Thank you for trying to care for this little guy!
 

MoonstoneWolf

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One thing my local feral society told me is to give them kitten chow mixed with the adult food during winter. It fattens them up which is what they need to stay warm. It's hard to keep wet food warm and wet and my ferals have a hard time eating frozen wet food. They come and go all different times.
 

ArchyCat

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MoonstoneWolf MoonstoneWolf has an excellent suggestion! Feed him kitten dry and canned food! Kitten grade food has a higher calorie and protein content than adult grade food. Plus buy the dry form of Kitten Milk Replacement m(KMR). Not the Hartz brand. Give him that instead of cow's milk. He also needs fluids. Good luck!

And thanks for helping this boy. See if you can have him neutered. Is her stray? Or a fearl?

Please keep us updated!
 

Whenallhellbreakslose

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I've got a nice but spooky black cat that visits for a meal occasionally, I have 35degrees this morning and am wondering what to feed him to fatten him up for winter, he likes a bowl of whole-milk and some table scraps, but most of my friends with house cats are worried about obesity and this outside boy needs the calories.....
I feed my outdoor cats both wet and dry food. For the dry, I switch to Kitten Chow because it is high calorie. Cats burn off energy just being out in the cold. I feed them Friskies or Fancy Feast wet food, sometimes if I am able to I feed them Blue Buffalo, Tiki Cat, Rachael Ray or Weruva. I tried for economic reasons to feed them cheaper food, but they turn their noses up at it.😾lol I feed them 2 to 3 times a day depending how cold it is outside. I also put Lysine powder in their food as an immune health booster. None of my cats get colds when in the winter, so I think Lysine works. Make sure the are hydrated by either putting some water in their food or have water on the side (put a pinch of sugar in it to keep from freezing over.) Also, just as important as the food and water, you must have a decent winter shelter the cats could stay in. On the coldest days and nights, I put out heated microwavable discs to keep them warm. I do the best I can by taking it one day at a time and keeping a close watch on the weather and how the cats are handling it. 😺😸😺
 
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